


Dragon Wings and Flying Things

by rillalicious



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-07-10 15:33:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15952286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rillalicious/pseuds/rillalicious
Summary: The Annual Broom Race of Sweden is headed through the Swedish Short-Snout dragon reservation. Charlie has arranged for Harry to bring Teddy. In the midst of all the excitement, Harry finds out that one of the most famous Dragonologists in recent history is someone very familiar.Written for the HD Fan Fair Bookfest in 2013.





	Dragon Wings and Flying Things

This gift, Harry thought, was one of the best ideas he'd ever had. Sure, some credit had to be given to Ron, who'd suggested Charlie's involvement in the first place, but from the moment Harry saw the posters for the Annual Broom Race of Sweden in the Ministry's Swedish Consulate office, he knew he had to find a way to get Teddy there.

Flying, Teddy's second most favorite obsession, had never been a problem for Harry. Teddy had been on a broom since before he could walk thanks to Harry. He was shaping up to be a dead brilliant Seeker, if Harry did say so himself. In fact, Harry reckoned that next year, when Teddy started Hogwarts, he had a decent chance to dethrone Harry as Gryffindor's youngest Seeker in the last century.

But dragons, Teddy's other love, were definitely not Harry's area of expertise.

Harry knew as much about them as anyone, he supposed, but the endless dragon facts Teddy spouted were mind-numbing after a while. He often found his eyes glazing over and had developed a habit of nodding absently and agreeing to whatever Teddy said once the word "dragon" entered the conversation. In fact, he'd frequently taken heat for confirming inaccurate dragon trivia this way, and one time Teddy refused to speak to him for three days because Harry ambivalently told him that _of course_ Chinese Fireballs had a second set of retractable lower teeth and for heaven's sake could he just let Harry finish getting dressed so they could leave the house?

It turned out it was the Portuguese Short-Snout with a second set of teeth.

But those posters had changed everything. The picture of a cheering crowd gathered in the bleachers between dragon pens as the racers whipped past on their brooms caught Harry's eye and he _knew_ he'd found the perfect gift. And it hadn't mattered that tickets for a seat on the Swedish dragon reservation had nearly sold out by the time Harry contacted them; being Harry Potter had its advantages from time to time, and tickets to major sporting events were certainly part of that category.

Ron had suggested Harry get an extra ticket for Charlie, who was about as fond of flying as Harry and Teddy, and could get them a private tour of the reservation after the race. It all seemed to fall into place perfectly.

Now they were at Charlie's little off-season flat in Bucharest, and Harry was watching Teddy bounce along the sitting room bookshelves with wide, greedy eyes.

"I've never even SEEN most of these!" he chirped, his hair turning a brilliant green, shimmering like dragon scales.

"You're kidding," said Charlie. "Harry, you've never given the kid a dragon book?"

"Sure I have," Harry protested. "Loads."

"Yeah. Picture books," said Teddy, his attention focused on the bookshelf in front of him.

"Not just picture books," said Harry. "What about last Christmas?"

"Last Christmas? Oh, _Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit_? That was a serious present?"

"Of course it was a serious present. I wrapped it, didn't I?"

Charlie snickered. "Harry, I think what Teddy's trying to say is… It's not exactly a legitimate dragon text. How'd you get it into your head to give him that one?"

"I, er…" Harry ran a hand over his mouth to muffle his words. "May have _confiscateditfromMundungusFletcher_."

"I'm sorry, what?" said Charlie, laughing openly now. "You got that book off _Dung_? Oh, mate, you should've known better for sure."

"Laugh all you want," Harry said. "I'm not much for dragons, and every book Hagrid recommended either had fangs or breathed fire."

"Ah, yeah, I've got some of those in a locked trunk under my bed," said Charlie.

"Hey, Charlie?" Teddy said, frowning as he tilted his head to the side to examine the spines, "you've got about a hundred of this same book. Why?"

Charlie glanced over to where Teddy was pulling out a book with a dark purple cover. "Not a hundred," he said. "Maybe about a dozen or so. 's my brother's idea of a laugh. He sends me the same book every year for my birthday."

Harry read the gold lettering and snorted, vaguely remembering Hermione thumbing through it during the TriWizard Tournament so many years ago. " _Men Who Love Dragons Too Much_ ," he said, snickering. "Nice one, Bill."

"Apparently it never gets old," said Charlie. "So, you two ready to catch that portkey?"

"Ugh, again?" said Teddy. "My stomach still hurts from the last one."

"Here, take these." Charlie pulled a little velvet pouch from his pocket and dumped a few shiny yellow candies onto the palm of his hand, holding them out for Teddy. "George invented them to help keep me from puking every time I Apparate. Better than any sea-sick spell I've ever tried."

"Thanks," Teddy said, though he didn't look convinced as he picked them up.

Harry reached out quickly and stopped Teddy from popping the candy in his mouth. " _George_ invented them?" he said, eying Charlie suspiciously.

Charlie grinned. "Believe me, mate, these are on the up and up. No side effects or anything. I swear. I've been looking forward to this race all year."

"All right," said Harry. "Go on, then, Teddy."

Teddy ate the candy and then grinned. "Charlie's right," he said. "Nothing happened. Though it would have been pretty sweet if I'd grown a tail."

Charlie clapped his shoulder. "I'll talk to George, see what he can do with the next batch."

"In the meantime," said Harry. "Portkey."

~*~*~

The crowd was packed into their seats by the time Harry, Charlie, and Teddy pushed their way through, but the Swedish Commissioner of Gaming had promised Harry boxed seats, and they soon had enough room to stretch out their legs at the top of the bleachers. Teddy stayed on his feet, clinging to the thick purple rope and leaning as far forward as he could.

"Bet we could practically touch them from here!" he said, stretching his fingertips out toward the sky.

Charlie grabbed him by the back of his Cannons jersey. "Easy, mate," he said. "It's a long way down from here and you'll miss the whole thing if you're laid up on a stretcher when the racers come by."

"Listen to Charlie," said Harry, glancing around to see if he knew anyone in the crowd.

Across the way was a mirrored set of bleachers with a box just like their own at the very top. Harry watched as a family made their way up the narrow stairs and into the enclosure, unable to make out their faces at this distance. There was something about that familiar shock of blond hair, though, and it made him want to keep looking. 

"Huh," Harry murmured, out loud, but to himself, the way he did sometimes when he was deep in thought. Teddy was forever teasing him about it. "That couldn't be…"

"Couldn't be what?" said Teddy, leaning over the ropes again to get a better look down the straight away. "Do you see them? Are they coming?"

"They're not due here for almost an hour," said Charlie, hooking a finger through Teddy's belt loop and yanking him back. "What's that, Harry?"

"Oh, it's nothing," said Harry. "I mean, I just thought I saw… It just looked like… Someone familiar over there." He squinted to sharpen his vision but it didn't help. It was starting to get dark, and the box across the way was heavily shadowed, most of the torch light sitting much lower in the bleachers.

When the racers came by, the entire sky would light up with daylight charms, but in the meantime, Harry could only see what was a few meters off. He didn't know why it mattered so much anyway. He hadn't seen the man in almost a decade. He certainly didn't _care_ what happened to him now.

"Who're you looking at?" said Charlie. He reached into his bag and pulled out a pair of thin-rimmed glasses with a Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes stamp on the earpiece.

"No, it's no one," said Harry. "Really."

Charlie tapped the top of the glasses and peered across the lane. "Don't see anyone I recognize," he said, scanning the crowd. "Well, except Malfoy there."

Harry felt a small stone drop in his stomach. "What? That _is_ Malfoy?"

"Well, yeah," Charlie said. "Of course it is. Without his research grants, this reservation would have gone under years ago. The Swedish Ministry recommended they merge with MacFusty's."

"He… huh?"

" _Draco_ Malfoy?" Teddy said, bouncing for Charlie's glasses. "Can I see?"

Harry stared at Teddy for a moment, then shook his head. "How do _you_ know Draco Malfoy?" he said. For Merlin's sake, Teddy was ten years-old.

"He's only one of the best living Dragonologists in the world," said Teddy. "I've _told_ you all about him."

"I… erm… wasn't listening," Harry said, still trying to puzzle it all out. Surely he would have recognized Malfoy's name had it come up in Teddy's blabbering on about dragons.

Teddy sighed. "You're never listening. Not about dragons."

"I can't believe you didn't know this is what Malfoy does for a living," Charlie said with a snort. "I would've expected the Ministry to keep tabs on his sort after the war."

"They do… I just…" Harry didn't seem to have a single cohesive thought at his disposal. "He's not on my list."

"Right," said Charlie. "Well, you'll have plenty of time for catching up after the race. It's Malfoy that's going to show us around the reservation tonight."

"Cool!" said Teddy.

Harry sank back into his seat, trying hard not to look exactly in Malfoy's direction. He hoped it was going to be a long race.

~*~*~

"All that anticipation and I would've missed it if I'd sneezed," said Charlie as they made their way down the stands after the racers had gone.

From the moment Teddy shouted (and of course he was the first one to see them coming) that they were within sight, it wasn't more than five minutes until the last racer zoomed past, darting back and forth along the lane as he tried to position himself to move up into the middle.

Teddy said it was the most exciting race he'd ever seen. Harry would have found it more exciting if he hadn't been so distracted at the time. But all he could think about was Malfoy. He'd made a conscious decision not to give a single thought to Malfoy after the war had ended, and he'd done well, but now it seemed like his brain was trying to make up for it all at once.

What had Malfoy been doing for all these years? How had he become a dragonologist? Wasn't he the boy who'd thrown a tantrum when Buckbeak frightened him? Did the Auror in charge of keeping tabs on Draco know this?

Harry nearly tripped over a small boy sitting on the last step, and he reached for Teddy's shoulder to catch himself. Teddy staggered forward and Harry fell even further, swinging his arms in the air wildly until he caught hold of something steadier.

"Potter." There was no mistaking the wicked amusement in that voice. The thing Harry had caught himself on was Draco Malfoy.

Harry pushed off Draco's shoulders and coughed into his hand.

"Uh, sorry, Malfoy."

Draco dusted himself off and addressed Charlie. "Hello, Weasley. Enjoy the race?"

"All twenty-three seconds of it," Charlie said, grabbing Draco's outstretched hand and shaking it with enthusiasm.

As his head bobbed involuntarily with Charlie's handshake, Draco seemed less than pleased. Harry thought that just maybe Charlie was doing it on purpose.

"And this is unmistakably my cousin's boy," Draco said, looking Teddy over. Teddy's hair had gone from blue to orange and back again in a matter of minutes. "Young Mister Lupin, a pleasure."

"Thanks," said Teddy. "Did you know the Swedish Short-Snout has the second hottest fire of any dragon in the world?"

"Of course." Draco raised a slender eyebrow. "Did _you_ know that the average Short-Snout egg weighs fourteen pounds just before hatching?"

"Yeah. Did _you_ know that in a fight between a Short-Snout and a Peruvian Vipertooth, the Short-Snout will always win?"

"How do you figure? The Vipertooth is faster and more deadly," said Draco, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked down his nose at Teddy.

"Not more deadly. Just more venomous. And it doesn't matter how fast it is, the Short-Snout has hotter fire and it can turn on a knut. It could burn off a Vipertooth's wings in a second flat."

"I suppose that's possible," Draco said.

"Besides," Teddy continued, "even Harvey Ridgebit said that the Short-Snout had more man-veering!"

"Man… veering?" said Draco.

Charlie patted Teddy's shoulder. "I think the word you're looking for is 'maneuverability', mate," he said.

"Right. That's what I said."

"Indeed," said Draco. He looked to Charlie. "You taught the boy to quote Ridgebit?"

"Nah," said Charlie. "I barely see him once a year. He read it himself. Isn't that right, Harry?"

"I… He… Uh…" Harry wasn't ready to answer any questions just yet. He was still trying to digest the conversation between Draco and Teddy.

"Ironbelly got your tongue?" said Charlie.

Draco sniffed. "Potter is speechless because he can't fathom how I can manage a conversation with a child without hexing the aforementioned child's head off. Isn't that right, Potter?"

"Of course not," said Harry. "I just… Dragons aren't my… area."

"Neither, it appears, is the English language."

"Oi, Malfoy, give it a rest," said Charlie. "Let's just get on with the tour, yeah? You said this wasn't going to be a problem for you."

"Of course it's not a problem," said Draco. " _For me._ Come along, small Lupin, before the yearlings are asleep for the night."

Harry felt like a fool. He hadn't expected Malfoy to be a dragonologist, or to be here at all, really, and he certainly hadn't expected Malfoy to be more comfortable with the whole situation than Harry. Or to be so amicable with Teddy. The only thing Harry had expected from Malfoy was the sharp tongue and disdain, but it was different now, as if it were all mixed with a sense of exhaustion. Though according to Charlie, Malfoy was at the top of his career, Harry couldn't shake the feeling that Draco Malfoy was tired. And in spite of his annoyance at Draco's antics, Harry had to admit that he understood that part of it. Harry was tired, too.

As Draco and Teddy moved off ahead, Charlie leaned closer to Harry.

"Bloke's come a long way over the years, but he's still a bit of a prick when he wants to be, eh?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "You could say that."

The Snort-Snout yearlings were drowsy but restless, small bursts of white-hot fire lighting up the night as they snapped and snarled at one another.

"Wicked!" Teddy said, pacing outside the fence.

"Do you like that?" Draco said. "Because this is what they look like when they're tired and grouchy. Luckily for you, we're coming back in the morning."

"We are?" said Teddy, nearly bouncing off his feet.

"We are?" Harry parroted, quirking an eyebrow at Charlie.

"Uh, yeah. If that's all right with you." Charlie rubbed the back of his neck. "I was starting to worry that it would be getting on dawn by the time the racers came through--that's what happened last year, mind--and I thought we could make some contingency plans. So we've got an extended tour booked in the morning. You'll still make your portkey home and everything."

"We're staying, aren't we?" Teddy said, his hair going dark in the flickering firelight.

"Of course," said Harry. "You're having fun, aren't you?" _With Malfoy, oddly._

"Loads!" said Teddy.

"That settles it, then," said Harry. He could feel Malfoy watching him, and for some reason it made him hyper aware about everything, down to the curl at the corners of his mouth.

Teddy let out a whoop, running toward the far end of the pen where one of the yearlings was nipping at the fence, and Charlie followed.

"Look at this," Draco said, his voice low and smooth. "Potter actually acquiesces to more time in my presence."

Harry looked away from Teddy, looked directly at Malfoy. "It's making Teddy happy, isn't it?"

"Is that what you live for, Potter?" Draco asked. He'd lowered his chin, as if he were watching the ground by Harry's feet, but his eyes flicked upward so he could watch Harry's face. "Making Teddy happy?"

"Not only that," Harry said. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Teddy is very important to me, yes. But I have a life. I have a career, Malfoy."

"So I've heard." Draco brought a hand to his chin, rubbing his jawbone with his thumb and forefinger. A burst of light shot forth from the yearlings' pen, and Harry could see that Draco was unshaven.

Harry shifted from one foot to the other.

"Whoa, whoa! Not too close to the fence now!" Charlie's voice broke the silence and Harry was glad of it.

"That was so cool," Teddy said, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Harry! Did you see?"

"Uh, yeah," Harry said, turning away from Draco and heading toward the boy. "Of course I saw. Now look, Teddy, we're going to be back here first thing in the morning. It's time for you to get some sleep, yeah? We need to get to the hotel--"

"Right. The hotel. About that…" Charlie trailed off, looking sheepish as he rubbed the back of his neck. "It turns out they double booked. It's not all that uncommon around here when the race is on. But that means…"

"We've got nowhere to stay for the night," said Harry.

"Er, not exactly," Charlie said.

"The reservation is putting you up," said Draco. "On account of you being the Chosen One and all, they've decided to give you free room and board for the remainder of your stay."

"Oh." Harry looked at Teddy, who seemed beside himself at the prospect of spending the night on the dragon reservation. "Well, in that case, thank you, Malfoy. It's appreciated."

Draco held up a hand and shook his head curtly as he turned to walk away.

"Save your gratitude, Potter. I had nothing to do with this," he said. "Entirely management's decision. Follow me. I'll show you to your rooms."

Harry glanced over to see Charlie rolling his eyes, and followed the group of them down the trail to the residential dormitories.

~*~*~

The reservation management had set aside two rooms for the three of them. One was a double with two beds, a stuffed Swedish Short-Snout sitting on the pillow of one of them, and the other was a single. Charlie volunteered for the single, but Teddy vetoed the idea, pointing out that he hardly ever got spend any time with Charlie and he had a million dragon-related questions to ask. After Charlie assured Harry that he certainly didn't mind staying up half the night talking about the best temperature for incubating Ironbelly eggs, Harry decided to take the single.

He had just folded his trousers over the back of a nearby chair when the door swung open.

"Weasley, I--Oh."

Harry looked over his shoulder, Malfoy's lips frozen in a ring of surprise as he stood in the doorway.

"Potter. Sorry. I assumed--"

"No," said Harry quickly, pulling his trousers from the chair and dangling them in front of his pants, "it's fine. Really. Just fine. Charlie and Teddy wanted to stay up talking dragons."

Draco cleared his throat. "Of course. I'll just be… I should. Go." His eyes met Harry's, then darted about the room. Then he stepped back and pulled the door closed with him.

Harry dropped his trousers to the floor and stood there watching the door stupidly. He wondered what Draco had been about to say to Charlie. They seemed chummier than Harry ever would have expected. Harry had never known Draco to have a good word to say about a Weasley, but he treated Charlie with respect, if not a little admiration. How on earth had that happened? Harry wanted to know. He found himself wishing Malfoy hadn't left.

He was just climbing into bed when there was a knock at the door. Harry pulled the blanket up past his waist and called out, "Yeah?" as his stomach did a flip somewhere inside him.

"Teddy's asleep." Charlie's face appeared around the corner of the door. "Just thought I'd let you know, lest you worry I'm keeping him up all night, dazzling him with obscure dragon facts."

"Oh. Uh, great," said Harry. "Good. Knew I could count on you, Charlie." Did he sound disappointed? He couldn't quite tell.

"Right," Charlie said. "Well, see you in the morning, Harry."

"G'night, Charlie." Harry said, and he settled down against the pillow as Charlie closed the door.

" _Nox_ ," he whispered. The room went dark.

Harry lay there, staring up at the ceiling until the shape of the medallion at the center of it began making sense through the darkness. He lay there until the small, chattering voice inside his head grew so tired of asking the same questions about Malfoy over and over that it gave up and simply repeated one or two words in a constant loop. He lay there until he heard some baby bird squawking plaintively outside his window.

Exhaling, he pushed himself upright. It was almost morning. He had not slept at all.

Outside the dormitories was a long, stone path that led to an arc of benches, framed in perfectly trimmed hedgerows. At the center of the arc was a tall, broad hedge carved into the shape of a Swedish Short-Snout. Harry walked the path barefoot, a morning chill creeping from the ground into his bones, the warming spell he'd cast on the rest of his body doing nothing to keep it at bay.

He was about to take a seat on a bench at the far end of the arc when he realized he wasn't alone in the garden. Draco sat on a bench that had been previously hidden from view, taking a slow drag on his cigarette and watching Harry approach. It was too late to head back to the building. Harry hesitated a bit, but kept walking.

"Restless night, Potter?" Draco asked casually. "Or are you just an early riser?"

"A bit of both," said Harry, sitting down beside him. Draco offered the cigarettes to Harry. "No, thanks."

"That's what I thought you'd say," said Draco. "But I assumed now that we are adults, I owed you the courtesy."

"Thoughtful of you," said Harry.

"I try."

Draco exhaled a long, swirling plume of smoke.

"It seems awfully early for a smoke break," said Harry.

"It's terribly early for many things." Draco leaned back on the bench and gazed up at the grey sky.

They sat in silence for a while, until it was almost painful, and Harry spoke again.

"By the way, thank you, for real. For the toy. For Teddy."

Draco flicked what was left of his cigarette to the ground and crushed it beneath his sole. Harry realized for the first time that Draco was wearing boots. He didn't know why he hadn't expected that. Perhaps because boots didn't really seem like a Draco thing to wear. They were rough, like Charlie's, dirty and scuffed, and looked as though he'd had them for a very long time.

"Did he like it?" Draco asked.

"Oh, yeah," said Harry. "Fell asleep with it, even."

Draco nodded and looked away, off in the direction of the pens this time. "Good," he said, nodding vaguely. "Good."

Harry took a few deep breaths. He looked around. The light was still dim, it was hard to make out shapes too far in the distance. Harry squinted for a moment as he tried.

This felt ridiculous.

Finally he sat back. "I'm glad this isn't awkward," he said.

Draco snorted. "Quite."

"So, um… do you sleep?" Harry asked.

"Occasionally. Mostly during the day. Full staff is on at that time. Fewer emergencies."

"You're the one they call for emergencies?"

"I'm the one with the dragon encyclopedia in my head. That lot," he nodded toward the dormitories, "are merely idiots who have a way with creatures."

Harry found himself smiling though he had no reason for it. Sleep deprivation, perhaps. "There's the Malfoy I remember."

"I'm much more charming after my first cup of tea in the morning."

"Looking forward to it," Harry said dryly. Off in the distance, a high-pitched sound began to echo through the stillness, growing louder, and louder still, like a siren.

"Yawning Short-Snout," said Draco. "Pleasant, isn't it? Dormitories and cabins are sound-proofed against that particular note, as well as a number of different yearling squawks. Otherwise no one would get any sleep around here."

The yawn drew to a close and Harry resisted the urge to rub his ears.

"Why do you do it?" he asked, broaching the question that had been bothering him since Charlie first confirmed Draco's presence.

"Do what? Sleep in the day? I thought we covered that."

"No. The dragons. Why are you _here_? The Draco Malfoy I remember was terrified of hippogriffs. How did you end up here?"

" _Terrified_ is a bit of an exaggeration, don't you think?" Draco said, pursing his lips together for a moment in a sincere pout. Harry wanted to laugh. "But you do have a point. I was never much a fan of creatures."

"So?" said Harry. "Why?"

"Potter, what do you remember from after the war? Do you remember the rebuilding of Hogwarts? Becoming an Auror? The hushed whispers of admiration from everyone you passed? Are those the things you remember? Because I don't." Draco crossed his arms over his chest. "What I remember is that my family could hardly show its face in public for years. My father's fortune was frozen and investigated more times than I could count. And all the while my father insisted that if I were only willing to wait it out, the bad press would all blow over and the Malfoys would be polishing the family crest again soon. He was, of course, entirely deluded. And I knew it. The appeal of becoming the ne'er-do-well black sheep of the family grew steadily in those days."

"You became a Dragonologist to annoy your father?"

"No. I became a Dragonologist because I met a dragon."

"Come again?" Harry said.

"It was your doing, actually," said Draco. "Though, believe me, I've tried to forget that over the years. It was a dragon you and your sidekicks freed from Gringotts."

Harry thought about that dragon, and nodded slowly. "Hermione tried to check up on it a few months after I killed Voldemort. She said some reservation had taken it in and it was going to be all right."

" _She_ ," Draco corrected. "She was all right. MacFusty's took her in. She was found in the Hebrides, half dead and washed up from the sea. I was in some seedy Scottish pub, drinking my way to double vision. Your friend Weasley walked in--MacFusty had him on loan from Romania--looking for some extra muscle to hire for the day to help move her from the rehabilitation pens there to the mountain sanctuary in Wales."

"And he chose… you." Harry swallowed down the note of surprise.

"Not for that," said Draco. "But he recognized me. He remembered how clever I was--"

"And modest."

"That too. And thought I could help with some of the warding spells. Which I did. With my particular talents it wasn't difficult."

It only took a few seconds of reading between the lines for Harry to realize what Draco was getting at.

"Charlie asked you to do dark magic to keep the dragon from hurting anyone?"

"Not in so many words," said Draco. "But it's not as if my defensive training wasn't quite extensive by the end of the war." His tone went a little dark there and Harry regretted asking the question.

'I didn't say there was anything wrong with it," said Harry. "That dragon was in bad shape when we saw her." He paused for a few seconds, hoping that Draco hadn't lost interest in the conversation. He was actually enjoying this, filling in all the gaps of Draco's last decade. "How is she now?"

"Better," Draco said, looking off into the distance. "She has an awful limp, and can't see at all, but she has a life now, like she deserves."

"So you did the spells, and…?"

"And the rest of it is sentimental nonsense that I don't share with former arch-nemeses," Draco said. "So what about you, Potter? Haven't seen your name on the front pages in a long time. Playing permanent nursemaid these days?"

Harry cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. "I took a lateral position so I could spend more time with Teddy, but I'm still an Auror."

"A lateral position? Potter, you're working a desk job!" Draco said.

"It isn't a desk job," said Harry. "It's just… office-focused."

"Exactly."

Harry shook his head and looked away. "You wouldn't understand, Malfoy," he said.

"No need for hurt feelings. It was an observation. Honestly, Potter, if you think anyone would begrudge _you_ a family, you're delusional."

It was a surprise, those words coming from Draco. They were almost compassionate. _What the hell happened between Draco and that dragon?_ Harry thought, and he had to press his lips together to keep from snorting. This was all so absurd, wasn't it?

Feeling somewhat heartened by the earnest response, he turned back to Draco. "I don't know what you're talking about, Malfoy. You're perfectly charming before your first cup of tea."

~*~*~

"You never told me you were the one who recruited Malfoy into this business," Harry said to Charlie, watching as Teddy dragged Draco to yet another of the glass windows inside the education center.

Charlie shrugged. "S'not like we talk regularly, you and me, not after you and Ginny split," he said. "And I never thought you'd care, really."

"Oh, I don't," Harry said. "I mean, he seems to like it. Good for him if that's the case. I just thought it was surprising was all."

"Sort of like Harry Potter taking a desk job so he can take better care of a kid?" Charlie's grin was lopsided, like a lazy version of Fred's, but just as mischievous.

"Why is everyone on that?" Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm _still_ an Auror."

Charlie slapped Harry's shoulder and started toward Draco and Teddy. Harry held back for a moment, then followed.

"And that, blessedly, concludes our tour of the entire reservation," Draco said. Teddy's face started to fall, but Draco interjected again. "Oh, wait. I nearly forgot." He pulled a tiny package from his pocket, tapped his wand to it, and watched it enlarge to the size of a book on his palm. "For you, Mr Lupin."

Teddy took the package and flipped it over, running his finger beneath the seam of the brown paper to slide it open slowly. He'd always opened presents this way, ever since he was small. The paper peeled away and Teddy flipped the book over, gasping as he read the title.

" _From Egg to Inferno: A Dragon Keeper's Guide_!" He clutched the book to his chest as he bounced on the balls of his feet.

"Oh, that's a good one!" Charlie said. "I've burnt through at least five copies."

Teddy looked up at Draco with wide eyes that had gone violet. "Thank you," he said reverently.

"Er, you're welcome," Draco said. He coughed a little into his hand. "But I can only take so much credit. It was your godfather who picked it out."

"Really?" Teddy spun around to face Harry, who had no idea how to react to that.

From behind Teddy, Draco gave a little nod, encouraging Harry to go for it.

"Well… I mean… Draco told me which books were good. I just… Um…"

"Modesty doesn't suit you, Potter," said Draco. "He walked into the bookstore and headed to that shelf straight away. Don't let him tell you any differently."

Harry's cheeks felt hot, but before he could stammer out a response, Teddy had flung the book open and was pointing frantically from picture to picture as Charlie tried to keep up.

Draco leaned nearer to Harry. "I don't know how you do this," he whispered.

"He mostly lives with his grandmother," Harry whispered back, smiling now. "And, um, thanks. For this. I'm a little lost when it comes to dragons."

"So I've heard," Draco said. "I didn't think you'd mind the help."

"Not at all," said Harry.

"Draco, look! That's just like you showed me!" Teddy thrust the book in Draco's face.

"Teddy, volume," said Harry.

"Oh, sorry!" Teddy said. "This one here," he stage whispered. "This is the one I'm talking about!"

Harry looked up to see Charlie watching him, and the look on Charlie's face made him uneasy. It was as if Charlie expected him to do something.

"Hey, Teddy." Charlie reached down and tugged on Teddy's sleeve. "C'mon. I'll take you to the canteen for a bite, yeah?"

"But we already ate."

"You're a growing boy. You can eat again. Besides, I'll buy you pie."

"Oh, all right. Don't forget where I left off, Draco. Right?"

"Of course," said Draco, and his entire body seemed to deflate in relief as Charlie ushered Teddy away.

"Are you regretting that decision to stay up all night?" Harry asked.

"At the moment, I'm regretting a lot of decisions," said Draco dryly. "And you? Looking forward to returning to your desk job tomorrow?"

"It's not a--oh, whatever. No. Not particularly. Now that you mention it. It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if this weekend was a little longer."

Draco slipped Harry a rare grin. "Now, now, Potter. Careful, or one might get the impression that you're actually enjoying my company."

Harry's gaze flickered over Draco's shoulder, then back to his face. "Maybe I am. But not too much."

"Of course. Not too much."

And just like that, what Charlie had been urging him to do slapped Harry broadly across the face, even though it didn't make a bit of sense. Charlie wanted Harry to have alone time with _Draco_? Had Charlie noticed that Harry hadn't seemed to mind Draco's presence this weekend? Did he think Harry was supposed to _act_ on that? 

"Pie. Right," Harry muttered under his breath.

"Come again?"

"Oh, nothing," said Harry. "But I feel like I should… Thank you, again. This weekend was great for Teddy."

"You're welcome. Again. I'm glad Teddy enjoyed it. Mind if I…" Draco tapped the pack of cigarettes barely visible in his breast pocket.

"No. Go ahead," Harry said. He exhaled. So much for Charlie's secret plan. 

At the doorway, Draco looked back. "Are you coming?" 

Or not.

"Yeah." Harry followed Draco out of the building and down the long path away from the center. 

He watched the smoke curl up over Draco's head and drift back toward him. Draco stopped where the path split around two boulders and sat down on one of them. Harry took the other. 

"Do you like it?" said Draco, shaking a bit of ash onto the ground. "Parenting?"

"Well, I'm not a parent, really," said Harry. "I mean, I think I'm a good godfather, but Andromeda does all the hard stuff."

"I suppose there's a lot of that. Hard stuff," said Draco. 

"Loads," said Harry. "But Teddy's a good kid, mostly. He's just got more energy than I do." 

Draco smirked. "He's got more energy than a yearling on Pepperup Potion."

Harry chuckled. "Malfoy, I have to know. When did you get this pleasant?"

"Oh, I've always been pleasant, Potter. Maybe you're just finally over that Slytherinphobia of yours."

"Yeah. Slytherinphobia. That was my problem."

"Glad to see you've finally admitted it."

Harry shook his head. He wasn't just enjoying this, he wanted to be here. 

"So is it back to normal for you after this?" he asked Draco.

"I plan to sleep for at least 72 hours, but yes, after that. No more break of dawn chats with famous heroes on the schedule for… well, for a long time, I suppose."

The urge to snatch the cigarette from Draco's hand and take a long drag gripped Harry like a vice. What he was about to say could only be the result of sleep deprivation.

"What if it didn't have to be a long time? What if… what if we did that more often?"

"Harry Potter." Draco's lips remained parted after he spoke, as if he were physically incapable of closing them. "Are you proposing a date?"

"A date? I… what? No, that would be… weird. Don't you think? I mean, of course you do. I just thought… maybe… dinner or something."

"Dinner. But _not_ a date?"

"Well," Harry began. "Not _not_ a date, either."

"I see. So, a date it is, then."

Harry swallowed. "Right. A date. I'm asking you on a date… Draco."

"You make it sound painful."

"No," Harry said quickly. "Not painful. Just…"

"Awkward?"

"Yeah."

"I can't imagine why," said Draco. "Here, let me, once again, come to your rescue, Potter."

"Harry."

"What?"

"Harry. Call me Harry now that I've asked you on a date. Otherwise it's even more awkward."

"All right then, Harry. This is how you ask someone on a date: This weekend has been reasonably pleasant. Weasley has offered to take the boy to the hatchery tonight. Would you like to have a drink with me this evening?"

"You're asking _me_ on a date?" said Harry. "That's why Charlie left?"

Draco sighed. "Do I need to explain how to answer with a simple 'yes' or 'no' as well?"

"No," said Harry. "I mean, yes. I'll go. This is just… surprising."

"For both of us."

Harry pressed his lips together, but the corners of his mouth turned up. "What happened to the real Draco Malfoy?"

"I told you. He met a dragon."

"That doesn't explain anything."

"Harry. We have all evening for explanations. Now, go back to your room and put on something that doesn't smell like smoke and dragon dung. I do have a certain reputation to uphold, you know."

Harry nodded slowly. "Then you'd better hope I brought more than Ron's old Cannons jersey and this shirt," he said, leaving Draco to worry over that comment as he headed for the dormitories.

He was looking forward to this date, more than he'd looked forward to anything that didn't involve Teddy in a very, very long time.

{END}


End file.
